U Chicago 11 Forum

[serenavanderwoodsen]

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[annon]

I highly recommend coming to ASW.

[uchicago1L]

Me too. Plus, I'm dayhosting - I might meet some of you guys!

[mildmannered]

I'll be there, thursday thru saturday.

[annon]

I'm night hosting. One of you may be sleeping on my couch.

Pardon the mess.

[Ulfrekr]

I thought I was going to the ASW, and then I thought I wouldn't, but now I think I will again. Everyone says it's worth it.

[Merrill]

I wasn't going to apply to Chicago at all (even though I live in Chicago and would like to stay here), but the more I hear about the school, the more I like it, and I ended up sending in an application at the last minute.

I was thinking about sitting in on a class just to get a sense of the vibe. Any 1Ls have suggestions about classes/professors that would be good representations of the school?

[annon]

I wasn't going to apply to Chicago at all (even though I live in Chicago and would like to stay here), but the more I hear about the school, the more I like it, and I ended up sending in an application at the last minute.

Thats great. Are you an admitted student? If so, I have to wholeheartedly recommend coming to ASW.

I was thinking about sitting in on a class just to get a sense of the vibe. Any 1Ls have suggestions about classes/professors that would be good representations of the school?

Sorry, but there isn't any one class or professor that can be representative of the school. In fact, all four professors I have right now AND all four courses I am taking are wildly different. The same was true of the last quarter as well.

But if you want to see two different types of very good professors, and sit in on 1L classes to see what they're like, I would recommend Torts with Epstein and Property with Strahilevitz. They probably differ the most in terms of teaching style, but are still great teachers. Well, to be fair, Epstein garners mixed opinion from the students; I'm one of the people who likes him so much that I may try and take every class he offers in the future; other people... not so much. You could always replace Epstein with someone like Baird for Contracts, but I personally think Epstein is an experience worth seeing.

But here's one thing to remember: this is our last week of classes this quarter (and some classes this week have been canceled). So after this week, no more Epstein for Torts and no more Strahilevitz for Property. If you want to catch them in action, you would have to visit sometime in the next 3 days. After that, classes will start up again March 31, but there will be a different lineup of profs (although Baird will still be teaching Contracts).

[gedmem2]

So I just read up on the shooting of the Chemistry student, and now I am a bit freaked out about U Chicago safety. It bothers me that the law school is in the most south part of Hyde Park which is also apparently the most dangerous.

Then I realized that after a murder, surely the university would overcompensate and make everything super safe (as is typical after a trajedy) and that actually going in the aftermath of the murder might be one of the safest times to attend.

What do you all think? What is the university doing to prevent violent crimes from happening? Are the university police patrolling south of 60th street now? What about the new dorms that are being built right next to the law school? Won't their addition mean an increase in security?

[annon]

So I just read up on the shooting of the Chemistry student, and now I am a bit freaked out about U Chicago safety. It bothers me that the law school is in the most south part of Hyde Park which is also apparently the most dangerous.

My perspective on this is skewed, since I went to undergrad in an even more dangerous area. Perhaps others are better suited to answering this question, but I'll just say this: I don't personally have any safety concerns going to school here or living in Hyde Park. Basic rules about living in a city apply (e.g., don't go walking alone outside at 3am).

Then I realized that after a murder, surely the university would overcompensate and make everything super safe (as is typical after a trajedy) and that actually going in the aftermath of the murder might be one of the safest times to attend.

What do you all think? What is the university doing to prevent violent crimes from happening? Are the university police patrolling south of 60th street now? What about the new dorms that are being built right next to the law school? Won't their addition mean an increase in security?

There has been a significant increase in security, especially along the "border area". After that event, the university opened a police substation there AND the new headquarters of the Univeristy of Chicago police department is going to be located there (I think it'll be opening soon). This is in addition to increased patrols, more vans for the SafeRide program, etc.

[gedmem2]

hey thanks! Since you are taking questions. . .

What do you think of this quote from the best 170 law schools:
“You are very lucky if you are able to obtain practical experience through credited work”

[annon]

I suppose it depends on what you mean by "practical experience." For the most part, you're not going to be learning many of the nuts and bolts of what lawyers do in a big firm... but thats what the firm teaches you (if you decide you want to work for a big firm). However, I suppose you can get a great deal of practical experience working in one of the clinics (which you do receive credit for, although the number of credits you can get by working in a clinic is capped).

Other than that, I'm not sure what to say. There are certainly classes that are more "black letter law" than theoretical, but even those characterizations feel a bit funny when I type them. The fact is, the majority of the top law schools don't give you "practical experience", and for good reason. You can learn the specific practical experiences you'll need at wherever you decide to work- these aren't the schools that usually churn out solo practitioners who need to walk out of school with more practical experience. Graduates of these schools will usually go places where they will then be taught the details; this is what employers expect and are prepared for. On the other hand, very few people will have the chance after graduation to "think about the law" in the manner they will during law school.

I probably didn't answer your question that well. If you can rephrase it to something more specific, I can try again.

PS: This is unrelated to your valid question, but I do want to say that "Best 170 Law Schools", and pretty much anything published by Princeton Review, is generally awful. The surveys/rankings are especially awful, unless you zone in on what they actually measure (in which case they go from being "awful" to just being "essentially useless").

[gedmem2]

Yeah, my concern stems from the fact that I don't want to work in a big firm, and they say that public interest groups want to hire those with the most experience because they can't afford to train them. I do like your clinics though.

I agree with your Princeton Review assessment. I just use it to get ideas about schools and then look it up myself.

[Merrill]

Thats great. Are you an admitted student? If so, I have to wholeheartedly recommend coming to ASW.

I'm not admitted (in fact I probably won't be), so I figure a class is the closest I'll get to being a student there! If by some miracle I am admitted, I'd have a hard choice to make between Boalt's ASD and Chicago's ASW. Thanks for your suggestions, annon; I'll probably come check out a class in the next couple of weeks.


gedmem, I lived in HP for about 3 years and learned that if you don't do anything stupid (walk around at night alone, go to secluded places alone, etc.), you're completely safe. The university has its own police force in addition to the regular police force. Also (at least when I lived there) the university had a shuttle system at night that bused students from the law school and other locations around campus to other places, including some housing, like Regent's. I can't remember what they're called, but when I lived there, the university also had emergency phones everywhere that provided a direct line to campus security (or the police, I'm not sure). I can't think of any reason why they wouldn't have kept those up.

[uchicago1L]

Thats great. Are you an admitted student? If so, I have to wholeheartedly recommend coming to ASW.

I'm not admitted (in fact I probably won't be), so I figure a class is the closest I'll get to being a student there! If by some miracle I am admitted, I'd have a hard choice to make between Boalt's ASD and Chicago's ASW. Thanks for your suggestions, annon; I'll probably come check out a class in the next couple of weeks.


gedmem, I lived in HP for about 3 years and learned that if you don't do anything stupid (walk around at night alone, go to secluded places alone, etc.), you're completely safe. The university has its own police force in addition to the regular police force. Also (at least when I lived there) the university had a shuttle system at night that bused students from the law school and other locations around campus to other places, including some housing, like Regent's. I can't remember what they're called, but when I lived there, the university also had emergency phones everywhere that provided a direct line to campus security (or the police, I'm not sure). I can't think of any reason why they wouldn't have kept those up.

To add to this, I would agree wth Annon and that Epstein's Torts and Strahi's Property would be the best to sit in on, but sadly, we won't have them anymore. Next quarter, in April though, I would recommend Baird's Contracts. Since we haven't started classes, I don't know how it is, but Diane Wood is teaching Civ Pro II, and I also hear Gersen (who teaches the other Torts section and will be teaching Legislation, a 1L elective this spring) is really great. Another elective to sit in on that you might like is Decisionmaking, taught by Baird and the famous Martha Nussbaum. So lots of good alternatives to the Epstein Torts/Strahi Prop lack (even though the latter is by far my favorite professor and I'll be taking every class I can with him for the next 2 years).

And Merrill's right about the shuttle system. It originates at Regenstein library on 57th (I think) St., and the East bus will take you directly to Regents. And th walk from law school to Regenstein isn't bad - stay with the main road (Ellis), there's usually a police car parked there, and you should be fine (but it's also not a walk I'd ever make alone at night).

[Merrill]

Are there many non-traditional (i.e. older) students in the law school?

[annon]

Are there many non-traditional (i.e. older) students in the law school?

What do you mean by older? 25+? 30+? 40+? Not sure we have any that are 40+, but there may one person (no, I'm not going to ask her how old she is; uchicago1L probably knows who I'm talking about).

I think we have a healthy number of older students, but I really don't have a basis for comparing it to other schools.

As I offered to another prospective student on this board, if you want me to put you in contact with other non-trads here that I'm friends with, I would be glad to do so. Just PM me with details (married? kids? age range?) and I'll see who I know that fits.

[uchicago1L]

Are there many non-traditional (i.e. older) students in the law school?

Like Annon said, it depends on what you think of as non-trad. That said, there are a lot of people in the mid- and late-20s, several in the 30s, not sure about 40s. I think there is one guy who may be in the 40s. And as for the woman Annon was talking about, I think she's in her late 30s from what I hear. But there is definitely a wide range of interests, backgrounds, and prior occupations, as well as quite a few married people (and some with kids).

[Wally.]

Bump? Tag?

[annon]

Bump.

After ASW, I know we have a lot of people already committed. Anyone on here?

[Yointer]

I went to the ASW last weekend and absolutely loved the school. I'll be there in September.

[deadfun]

I am so glad to hear that. There were some planning glitches with ASW this year, so its good to know it wasn't a dealbreaker. Look forward to meeting you in the fall.

[Yointer]

I am so glad to hear that. There were some planning glitches with ASW this year, so its good to know it wasn't a dealbreaker. Look forward to meeting you in the fall.

From my perspective, the ASW was executed fairly smoothly. Aside from the "law school tour", which was a complete and absolute waste of my time, I enjoyed the entire program. My host was a cool dude, which helped.

[M2008]

Who needs to find a roommate? Or should there be a separate housing thread? There's one on the Facebook group, but that doesn't seem too active. I was thinking about Regents, but it seems even with the law school discount there are significantly cheaper options in the vicinity.

[annon]

Who needs to find a roommate? Or should there be a separate housing thread? There's one on the Facebook group, but that doesn't seem too active. I was thinking about Regents, but it seems even with the law school discount there are significantly cheaper options in the vicinity.

Do they still have an admitted students message board run by the school? My year we had one, and I seem to remember a lot of people finding roommates that way. It will probably pick up more over the next month or so.